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Responsibility for tantalising our ear buds this week came from a somewhat unexpected source (an old favourite of ours in fact) English alternative rock band from London, Suede. Formed back in 1989 and with a early line up which probably made you want to jiz your musical pants these guys hit the limelight with a bang.

Hailed the ”The Best New Band in Britain” in 1992 their self titled debut album went to the top of the charts, became the fastest-selling debut album in almost ten years, won a Mercury Music Prize and kick started the infamous Britpop era (on which so many of our key pieces take inspiration from).

Their follow up Dog Man Star (1994) was considered a masterpiece by music critics worldwide and the hits just kept on coming. Third album ‘Coming Up,’ two years later became their biggest selling album, charting at #1 and producing five (yes five) top ten singles.

Number four ‘Head Music,’ (1999) was equally successful and it was all going so well until ‘A New Morning’ hit the shelves. An addiction to crack and heroine reared it’s ugly head and saw Anderson become a shadow of his former self, arguments followed and the collapse of Nude Records together ultimately led to the groups demise.

But, after much speculation Suede are back! (And in style we might add). The euphoric ‘Barriers’ is a triumphant comeback. A mixture of pounding bass, hooking guitar synths,

A mix of hooky guitars and pounding bass that recalls the Manics (and more than a little bit like U2), nicely-obscure lyrics that reference Greil Marcus (“Aniseed kisses and lipstick traces”) and Brett Anderson’s classic soaring vocals…. We like it, and think you will too.

Another favourite of the week came from Mikky Ekko, ok so the track is a little slower than we’d usually go for but as far as breakthroughs go teaming up with Rihanna (for power ballad ‘Stay’) is pretty fucking epic. We have to say it’s refreshing to see someone sitting in the R&B genre who can a) sing and b) songwrite (Haha back handed compliments are the best). Enjoy

Our prestigious worst release of the week award goes to this musical disaster:

Controversial we know (he was a pretty big deal for some way back…well whenever it was) but we’re guna’ go ahead and say it SEXY is most definitely not back. Just saying.

Posted on: January 16, 2013

A contemporary take on an old school 80’s classic windbreaker with an indie edge, the Fly53 Hoiks jacket is one of our favorite pieces to drop from the new Winter ’12 collection. Whilst similar jackets in the collection have the shape and style of this piece, this time we’ve taken a wardrobe staple and given it a revamp – Fly53 style.

The contrasting block colors are a nod to our love for the Britpop era which emerged from the British independent music scene in the early naughties. The time was characterised by emerging talent from bands influenced by great guitar based music from the 60s and 70s. It saw some or our favourite bands to this day – Blur, Pulp, Supergrass, Black Grape – coming to life styled, sounding and resembling those from decades before like The Beatles and The Kinks, yet writing about current British topics and concerns.

Much Like the bands from the Britpop era this jacket takes its inspiration from original vintage windbreakers and styling itself on them but coming with a new, more modern vibe. The elasticated cuffs and hem stay true to their roots whilst the hidden hood and funnel neck add a much more modern feel and contoured siholutte.

The Fly53 Hoiks Jacket is lightweight, durable, and steeped in lifestyle history with deep musical roots, most importantly it remains practical whilst not compromising on style making it perfect for all seasons. Avaliable in contrasting colours Orange and Olive or Indigo and Camel.

Click the images to see more.

Posted on: October 19, 2012

This week we decided it was time to lay on another of our infamous Student Lock in’s in the beautiful town of Bournemouth. Jaw dropping magician Magic Al in tow we set off from Fly53 HQ to give the students of Bournemouth a little injection of all things Fly53, and we weren’t planning on doing this quietly.

The evening was a huge success if we do say so ourselves – beers were handed out on arrival, DJ Kev Cox cranked up the PA system nice and loud to get everyone in the party mood, and Magic Al was his usual amazing self leaving the crowds more confused than trying to get your head around algebra on E. Trust us thats some confusing shit.

As for the cherry on our big fat cake, we ran a 20% student discount on everything all night long as well as giving out copies of our latest jam packed Zine giving everyone a little insight into exactly who we’ve been hangin’ with all summer.

If you couldn’t make this one – never fear. Over the next few months we’ll be running in store events up and down the country not stopping until we’ve well and truly spread the Fly53 message. Lock up your daughters – we’re coming to get you.

Posted on: October 18, 2012

Mammoth Friday Musical Distraction: Rapper Ben Haggerty and Producer Ryan Lewis aka Macklemore. This amazing bundle of talent has taken the US by storm and is well and truly coming for us. Buckle up.

Last week their debut album ‘The Heist’ shot to number one on the itunes download chart within hours of dropping. This week they’ve earned himself a serious following of fans who find Ben’s (what has been dubbed) ‘positive’ rapping style refreshing - he tells us what’s wrong with the world without wanting to kill everyone for their inadequacies along the way. Cool hey.

Check out our favourite track of the spanking new album, coming off the back of their debut single ‘Same Love’ which eloquently addressed underlying issues associated with homosexuality and same sex marriage they’ve switched things up a bit with this one to say the least. ‘Thrift Shop’ is a comical tribute to all those, like Ben who refuse to pay big bucks for their threads and pride themselves on their ability to look cool – even in your grandma’s coat. Amen.

We don’t make fur coats, and you probably won’t catch us rolling in a onesie but these guys could borrow our nan’s garms any day.

Posted on: October 12, 2012

This week we caught up with a long time friend of ours and fan of all things Fly53 Tom Bronowski.

An insanely talented photographer Tom first caught our eye after he spent the night with one of our favourite bands, Gallows at a gig they played in Warsaw this September. His amazing style of live shooting is captivating and in each of his photographs he manages to portray the energy of the performance. It’s like we’re right there, and we can’t quite believe he does this all as a hobby.

As massive fans of his work we decided to have a catch up, and swing a few questions his way. So here goes:

Who’s the coolest band/musician you’ve ever photographed and why?

Well ….. hard to say. As I’m not professional photographer, what I mean it’s not my daily job, actually it’s not my job at all, I choose bands/musicians I want to take photos of. My photo shooting offer is rejected very often, so I would say the coolest are those with attitude like ‘ sure, why not’ or ‘hell yeah, let’s do it’. And why? I really appreciate these few minutes we can hang out together.

If you could spend a day photographing anyone in the world who would it be?

Dave Grohl

Where do you look for inspiration for shoots?

Mostly in people I meet, the places I visit, the books I read and music I listen to.

Who would win in a fight between superman and batman?

As for a fight, I think Superman would win. Come on with all those laser eyes, X-ray vision, superhuman strength etc. What Batman has against that?

You’re invisible for the day – what do you do/ who do you photograph?

Don’t even want to think about it. Soooo many “bad” things could happen.

Heres the man himself repping our Fly53 Zastee Tee from our latest collection to drop. If you haven’t already get over to his website and check it out. We predict seriously big things to come.

www.tombronowski.com

Posted on: October 11, 2012

We’re not sure there is much this man could do that couldn’t be called legendary really. A few things that instantly spring to mind involve getting breast implants, being ordained as a priest in the church of Satan and having his lowest set of ribs removed so he could suck his own ahem. Right or wrong? – we think we’ll leave that for you to decide, there no denying our uber fascination with all things Manson.

Whether he makes you feel a little uncomfortable or has you hailing his forward thinking genius, and digging out the surgeons number (an odd mixture of the two perhaps) we’d like to clear one very important thing up – it’s not weird if you try it yourself ok!

All jokes aside, this absolute bundle of crazy has a little more to boast about than the fact that he may or may not be able to suck his own dick after having 2 ribs removed. (Medical research conducted for the purpose of this article suggests it would be more helpful to remove vertebrate – who knew). Yep love him or hate him, 3 platinum albums, 3 more gold, more award nominations than you could shake a stick at and a following to rival 10 sane artists combined he’s had a pretty impressive career.

Just take a minute to gaze into those pretty eyes…

Posted on: October 10, 2012

Home grown Alternative Indie Pop band Alt J are pretty much on fire right now. After the release of their debut album ‘An Awsome Wave’ in May this year their rise to fame has intense and theirs is the name on everyones lips.

Rightly so we reckon. Their sound is unique and pulls on multiple genres (from folk to hip hop and indie-rock to electronic) making it easy to find something you’ll love and can engage with in their music.

Helping this even more is their lyrics, intimate, intelligent and littered with film and literary references providing that ultimately intensely satisfying ah-ha moment and making you feel like they know you so well, just the way you know your favourite childhood stories they so cleverly pull on.

If you haven’t already – Check them out. Thats an order. Here’s a little something to whet your Alt-J appetite.

Posted on: October 3, 2012

It’s no secret to the world that we have a long standing, fine tuned appreciation for the alternative female form here at Fly53 HQ, and after much deliberation we decided we’ve become close enough for us to let you into our little secret gold mine. We’re on Pinterest and we have a few other boards other than the one for the opposite sex, but we’re hard pressed as to which gets us going the most. Bikes, style, in store, graphics, art, music… they all play a part.

Pinterest is the one place in the world where we collect and admire the creme de la creme of the cooler than cool objects of our desire. Hijacking the site to show a load of what fuels us on a regular basis is a daily chore that we greet gladly.

The women of Pinterest are the apple of our eye at the moment and there’s too many to choose from. We enjoy the Herculean task of trying to sort all the women’s images though. So if you have the time, sit back, enjoy, admire, revel in their beauty, remain in awe of their seductive power, and admire their capacity to; ride a bike better, drink us under the table and still remain feminine, powerful and in charge of the world.

Women of Pinterest we salute you. Click the image below to see more.

Posted on: September 21, 2012

Fly53 was born to make and create the finest and freshest limited edition Tee’s for all you 24 hour party people, when other brands couldn’t quite cut the mustard.

Heres another: The name kinda speaks for itself on this one, true to our motto and tongue firmly in cheek – just the way we like it, this is the latest and greatest to come out of the twisted imaginations of our creative team…

Pull on, wear in, rock out – Expect Chaos.

Posted on: September 18, 2012